Northern Dispatch

02/09/2025

FEATURE | Beyond corruption allegations and substandard work in DPWH flood control projects nationwide, the agency also faces criticism for bypassing required community consultations and coordination with local governments, raising concerns over flawed designs and environmental risks.

Read the article: https://bit.ly/45Z7SZv

Photo from Tignayan Productions

02/09/2025

𝙊𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝘽𝙖𝙜𝙪𝙞𝙤 𝙈𝙖𝙮𝙤𝙧 𝘽𝙚𝙣𝙟𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙣 𝙈𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙣 𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙪𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙖

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines Baguio-Benguet Chapter, is one in the crusade for truth, justice, and transparency.

We acknowledge the statements made by Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong on his exposés on government projects.

We also note the serious allegations of regular payments to media personalities which he likewise questioned but seemingly condoned during his stint as Chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, has further cast a shadow of suspicion over the integrity of the press and media professionals.

We believe that true transparency requires a deeper look at the very systems that enable corruption to flourish. We are a profession of watchdogs, dedicated to fact-based, document-centered investigations that leave no stone unturned in the quest for accountability.

At a time when credibility is questioned, we call on our colleagues to hold onto the standards set forth by the Journalist’s Code of Ethics and practice the highest level of professionalism.

Our credibility is our most valuable asset, and it is put under pressure time and again when journalists must balance editorial integrity coupled with the responsibility to contribute to the flourishing of business models.

We acknowledge that some colleagues have blurred the lines between journalism and unethical solicitations, and the dangerous double standard of PR work for politicians and personalities. Such practices are rampant in the media industry, as graft and corruption are prevalent in government.

However, to propagate corruption is to enable a systemic illness. The fight to rid systems in the government and the media industry cannot be done alone, but with a community of watchdogs.

We call for an immediate end to unethical practice within our ranks and enjoin those who reinforce corruption by coddling media practitioners who have made it a way of life.

We pose a challenge to raise the bar for a public discussion on the role of media in the community, as we stay true to the NUJP's commitment to a safer, better, and more ethical practice of journalism, not only for the Baguio and Benguet communities but for the entire country. #

01/09/2025

For 23 months, the Israeli authorities have refused to grant journalists outside of Gaza independent access to the Palestinian territory – a situation that is without precedent in modern warfare.

Local journalists, those best positioned to tell the truth, face displacement and starvation. To date, at least 210 journalists have been killed by the Israeli military. Many more have been injured and face constant threats to their lives for doing their jobs: bearing witness.

This is a direct attack on press freedom and the right to information.

Nortern Dispatch joins the global media blackout for press freedom in Gaza.

01/09/2025

NEWS | Innabuyog joined Salinlahi Alliance for Children’s Concerns, along with other groups, in pressing Congress to pass the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (APP) Bill. The group said the proposal is an important “complementary measure to address the increasing number of teenage pregnancies and to protect the health and future of young women and girls.”

Read the story: https://bit.ly/4n8T0in

01/09/2025

JRPM files complaints in South Korea over Jalaur Dam project

BAGUIO CITY — The Jalaur River for the People’s Movement (JRPM), with South Korean partners, filed formal complaints on August 26 against the Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM/EDCF) and Daewoo Engineering & Construction over alleged human rights and environmental violations tied to the Jalaur River Multipurpose Project II (JRMP II) in Iloilo, Philippines.

The complaints, lodged before Korean authorities, cite breaches of environmental and social safeguards, lack of free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) from the Tumandok Indigenous People, militarization of communities, and continuing harassment of project opponents. JRPM also documented forced displacement, environmental destruction, and the December 30, 2020, killings of nine Tumandok leaders, which it described as linked to resistance against the dam.

JRPM coordinator John Ian Alenciaga said KEXIM violated its own safeguards by funding a project that displaced families and submerged ancestral lands and burial sites. He called for the suspension of funding and accountability for victims.

Lee Young-ah of People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy stressed that JRMP II is the first project covered by Korea’s EDCF safeguards and urged an independent investigation. Lawyer Jung Shin-young of Advocates for Public Law Interest added that Daewoo E&C must engage directly with affected communities and comply with OECD guidelines.

In the Philippines, JRPM held a protest at the Iloilo Provincial Capitol to highlight ongoing abuses linked to the project. The action coincided with Indigenous Peoples Month, the International Day of Solidarity and Action for the Tumandok People, and the commemoration of Tumandok leaders killed in 2020.

JRPM reiterated its demand to stop the dam project, halt militarization, and deliver justice to displaced residents. # (Northern Dispatch)

01/09/2025

EDITORIAL | Accountability must begin at the top. The president signs the national budget and directs agencies to implement it. To deny responsibility is to deny the powers of the office. Calls for transparency and clean governance ring hollow when the same administration authorizes the very funds now under scrutiny.

Read the article: https://bit.ly/46eNWDo

31/08/2025

NEWS | At the University of the Philippines Baguio, students, faculty, and rights advocates held a candlelight vigil to show support for families of desaparecidos on August 29. The group remembered missing activists in the Cordillera, including James Balao, Dexter Capuyan, and Bazoo de Jesus.

Read the report: https://bit.ly/3Hzw8cQ

31/08/2025

NEWS | Detained for over five years without conviction, Cumpio’s case raises serious concerns over prolonged pretrial detention and allegations that authorities planted the weapons that led to her arrest.

The coalition, including the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines and AlterMidya in Manila, along with global press freedom organizations Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), and Free Press Unlimited (FPU), has repeatedly raised concerns about Cump...

31/08/2025

OPINION | Presented through testimonials of their lawyer, a reporter, a former DOJ Secretary and CHR chair, and witnesses who agreed to appear on condition of anonymity, combined with animation and never-before-seen footage of the family’s relentless search, the documentary film weaves the stories together to uncover the truths, however painful, about the brother’s disappearance.

Read the article: https://bit.ly/4lWSAL0

31/08/2025

Northern Luzon agency proposed for tourism-focused growth

BAGUIO CITY — A bill seeking to establish the Northern Luzon Development Authority (NLDA) has been filed in the House of Representatives to coordinate growth efforts in the Cordillera, Ilocos, and Cagayan Valley regions, with tourism as its central strategy.

House Bill No. 3109, authored by Solid North Party-list Rep. Menchie Bernos, proposes a renewable 50-year mandate for the NLDA. The agency would be based in San Fernando City, La Union, with satellite offices in Tuguegarao, Cagayan, and Baguio City. It would work with local governments, national agencies, private stakeholders, and community organizations to accelerate development.

Bernos said Northern Luzon is rich in natural resources and cultural heritage. However, it continues to face weak infrastructure, uneven development, and fragmented governance. She noted that past efforts, such as the North Luzon Growth Quadrangle, were abolished without replacement, leaving the area without a long-term planning body.

Under the bill, the NLDA would prioritize tourism by identifying and promoting heritage towns, natural parks, ecotourism areas, and cultural landscapes. It would also fund access roads, visitor centers, and other facilities, while supporting community-based enterprises led by women, youth, and indigenous peoples.

Bernos said the measure complements other tourism-related bills, including Abra Rep. JB Bernos’s proposal to declare Abra a priority Tourism and Cultural Heritage Area, and her own measure institutionalizing community-based tourism nationwide.

She expressed confidence that creating the NLDA would help Northern Luzon capitalize on its cultural and natural wealth, while generating local jobs and economic opportunities. # (Artemio Dumlao)

30/08/2025

OPINYON | Totoong maaaring tukuyin ng mga mambabatas ang pangangailangan ng mga komunidad upang pondohan, dahil sila ang may “power of the purse.” At ipinatutupad naman ng mga kontratista ang proyekto. Ngunit kung hindi maayos na idinisenyo ng DPWH batay sa tamang datos, mawawalan ng saysay ang buong proseso—gaya ng ilang nabulilyasong imprastraktura sa iba’t ibang bahagi ng bansa.

Basahin ang artikulo: https://bit.ly/4pf88N4

29/08/2025

PANOORIN ang mga nag-aalab na balita’t pananaw mula sa Altermidya Network!

🔥 Pagpostura ni Pres. Marcos Jr bilang kampeon laban sa korupsyon, kinuwestyon

🔥 Nueva Vizcaya, umalma: mga residente at Sangguniang Bayan kontra sa mining exploration

🔥 Serbisyong pabahay, hindi pa rin prayoridad ng pamahalaan ayon sa urban poor group

🔥 Mabagal na pag-usad ng batas, binatikos ng mga pamilya ng desaparecidos

🔥 Balitang Emoji: Ulan at baha na naman—basura at disiplina lang ba ang laging dahilan?

Sama-sama nating panoorin ang ALAB ngayong Biyernes ng gabi!